Chuck's Home Cooking

Watch the segment here! 


Savoury Breakfast Bread Pudding

Serves 6 to 8

Savoury bread pudding is a great way to use up leftovers and feed a bunch of hungry kids (and adults). This one-pan dish is perfect for a sleepover breakfast, brunch, or a lazy dinner with some simple greens or a salad.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced

10 cups day-old bread torn into pieces

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1 cup julienned smoked ham

4 large eggs

11/3 cups + 2 tablespoons milk (any type)

2/3 cup heavy (35%) cream

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

2 tablespoons salted butter, cut into small cubes

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).  Grease a 13 × 9-inch baking dish.

2. Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

3. Scrape the cooked onions into the prepared baking dish. Add the bread, cheddar, and ham and mix together.

4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, thyme, salt, and pepper. Pour the egg mixture over the bread mixture and gently mix everything together. Let rest for 10 minutes.

5. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, scatter the cubed butter over the bread pudding, and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the top is golden brown and crispy. Let the bread pudding cool for 5 minutes before serving.

 

Cauliflower Salad with Lemon and Black Pepper Dressing

Serves 4 to 6

This late-fall, early-winter salad came together while I was staring into my fridge with absolutely no idea what to make for dinner. It’s the perfect mix of crunchy, creamy, and sweet, with a rich dressing and bitter endive to keep it light. Using up odds and ends to make something tasty is always a plus. Serve this as a side for pork or lamb, or even as a quick lunch on its own.

Ingredients:

Lemon and Black Pepper Dressing

½ cup mayonnaise

½ cup plain full-fat Greek yogurt

Zest of 2 lemons

¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

¼ cup cold water

2 garlic cloves, minced

½ teaspoon kosher salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

Cauliflower Salad

1 head cauliflower, leaves removed, quartered

1 head red endive

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon flaky sea salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

2 ripe Bartlett pears

1 cup chopped toasted walnuts

Directions:

1 Make the lemon and black pepper dressing: In a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice, cold water, garlic, kosher salt, and pepper. Whisk until smooth. Set aside until ready to use or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

2 Make the cauliflower salad: Using a mandoline, carefully slice the cauliflower lengthwise about ⅛ inch thick. Place it in a large bowl.

3 Trim away the root end of the endive and separate the leaves. When no more leaves come off, cut a bit more off the bottom and continue until all the leaves are separated. Add the leaves to the bowl with the cauliflower. Add the olive oil, flaky sea salt, and pepper and toss together. Arrange on a platter.
4 Working with one pear at a time, place a pear on a cutting board and use a paring knife to cut it in half lengthwise. Cut each half in half again lengthwise to create quarters. Cut out the core. Using a mandoline, thinly slice the pears lengthwise. Arrange the pear slices over the cauliflower and endive. Sprinkle with the toasted walnuts and drizzle the lemon and black pepper dressing over the salad. Serve immediately.

Lamb Ragu with Conchiglioni

Serves 4

This recipe was a customer favourite at the restaurant during Covid. Having to reinvent the way we did business and focusing on takeout, delivery, and changing our menu was a challenge, but we made it through. People wanted comforting food that wasn’t going to break the bank, and when we put this ragu on the menu, customers really went for it. I brought this pasta home a lot, it was that good—rich, with a hint of that distinct lamb but not too overpowering. Now, it’s part of a cast of revolving dishes.

Ingredients:

1½ tablespoons olive oil

1 pound (450 g) ground lamb

1 medium yellow onion, finely diced

2 ounces (55 g) pancetta, thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, smashed and roughly chopped

1 sprig fresh rosemary

3 bay leaves

3 cans (5.5 ounces/156 mL each) tomato paste

6 cups water

1 tablespoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

18 ounces (500 g) conchiglioni (large pasta shells)

Grated Grana Padano cheese, for serving

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the lamb, break it apart with a wooden spoon, and cook, stirring often, until browned. Using a slotted spoon, remove the lamb from the pot and transfer to a plate, leaving the fat in the pot. Reduce the heat to medium-low, toss in the onions and pancetta, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions start to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, rosemary, and bay leaves and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 2 minutes.

2. Return the browned lamb and any juices to the pot. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the water, salt, and pepper and stir well to combine everything. Increase the heat to high and bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover with the lid slightly ajar, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 4 hours, until the sauce has thickened. Discard the rosemary sprig and bay leaves. (The sauce is even better the next day. You can completely cool the sauce and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.)

3. When the sauce is done, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain the pasta, transfer to a large bowl, and mix with a ladleful of the sauce so it doesn’t stick together. Divide the pasta between bowls. Top with more sauce and the grated cheese.

Apple Galette

Serves 6

This is the most eaten dessert at my house-by both adults and kids. Apples are always around, they're the least exotic, most local fruit, and we love them. During apple-picking season galette is a must, but it's also good for apples that are losing their lustre. This is a great recipe to make with kids-it's free-form, so no precision is needed, and no matter how it looks, it always tastes amazing. I like using Empire apples, but any sweet baking apple will work.
 

Pastry Dough

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

6 tablespoons cold salted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

1 egg, lightly beaten

Vanilla Butter

4 tablespoons salted butter

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped out, pod reserved

Filling

¼ cup packed brown sugar

3 Empire apples, peeled, cored, and sliced about¼ inch thick
 

For assembly

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons turbinado sugar

1 teaspoon flaky sea salt

Directions:

1 Make the pastry dough: In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, granulated sugar, and salt. Add the butter and,

using your hands, pinch the butter to form small pea-size lumps in the flour. Add the egg and mix in with a fork until a rough dough comes together.

2 Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth. Shape the dough into a small rectangle, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 days.

3 Meanwhile, make the vanilla butter: Combine the butter and vanilla seeds in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter has browned. Be careful not to burn it. Remove from the heat and set aside.

4 Make the galette: Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.

5 On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the chilled dough into a 16 x 12-inch rectangle (it doesn't need to be exact). Trim the edges, then lay the dough on the lined baking sheet.

6 Fill, finish, and bake the galette: Evenly sprinkle the brown sugar all over the dough, leaving a 1½-inch border on all sides. Arrange the apple slices evenly over the sugar, overlapping slightly. Gently fold the border of the dough up over the apples, pinching in the corners if needed to help keep its shape.

7 Drizzle the browned vanilla butter all over the apples and lay the vanilla pod pieces on top. Brush the pastry edge with the beaten egg. Sprinkle the turbinado sugar all over the pastry and apples. Sprinkle the apples with the flaky sea salt. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the apples are tender and the crust is golden brown.

Store leftover galette, covered with plastic wrap, on the counter for up to 2 days.